"One of the officers climbed partially through the passenger side window attempting to stop the vehicle," said Palm Springs Chief of Police Al Franz. "The suspect accelerated directly towards the second officer, striking him, and continued on with the initial officer suspended in the passenger side window. The suspect continued driving before crashing the vehicle near the exit."

At 22 years old, “AJ” as he was known to family members, had already survived one tour in Afghanistan. DeVillena said his son had a lot of friends and stayed close with family despite his deployment.